Valdemar's Tome of Advanced Necromancy
by Markus Olavi MontolaThis book I have compiled is made for those who come after me to see the worst horrors of the Glantrian Necromancy. The story of my life and career is long, but during it I realised the horrific nature of the black magic I practised, and after moving to Darokin, I let Valerias' light fall into my heart. Now as I have aged over comprehension, and I am dying, I have decided to compile the blackest secrets to this tome, to let someone know how to fight the worst of the worst of the northern Glantri. Few know what they can do, and my wish is that this book will show everyone the true powers of death.
Do not let these secrets fall in the wrong hands. If you yourself plan to use this magic, prepare to face my wrath as you read further. But the man with good intentions will suffer no ill.
This book includes many spells designed by mighty necromancers, including Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany and Brannart McGregor. It was rather easy to gather those with my magics, as the dead souls hold no secrets from a mighty magus.
Valdemar of Ostbruck
The Eyes of the Dead Man by Szasza
Markovitch
Level: 3
Range: gaze
Duration: varies
Area: one person
Szasza's spell allows the caster gazing to the eyes of a dead body to see the last things he saw before dying. He sees one minute per level of action, but can hear nothing. The eyes can also be used on the undead, who get a saving throw against the spell. The undead is also forced to watch his death as the caster sees it, which usually puts them to raging frenzy against the caster, or drives them away horrified. The mindless undead don't care.
Szasza's Vengeance by Szasza
Markovitch
Level: 6
Range: 30m
Duration: permanent
Area: one victim
Szasza's Vengeance is a powerful curse that can be only cast by a necromancer who is dying at the time of the casting. The spell requires only a very simple gesture and gaze, so usually even the dying can cast it. As the Vengeance drains caster of his life-energies, he can never be brought back to life. Szasza's Vengeance works in three different ways. First, the victim is instantaneously and permanently drained of two levels of experience. Secondly, three nights after the caster is killed, he comes back as an intelligent spectre with all his spell-casting abilities (except Szasza's Vengeance), but which is completely obsessed with killing the victim. The spectre vanishes as the victim dies, but if the victim is drained to zero levels of experience, he turns to a spectre and is left to haunt the place of his death. Thirdly, until the spectre tracking the victim is destroyed, the victim sees every night nightmares of his death, and the lack of sleep gives him -2 modifier to everything he does.
The Wraith Curse by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 6
Range: touch
Duration: 1r / level, or until it hits
Area: one edged weapon
The target weapon is surrounded by black, crackling aura for the duration of the spell. When the spell is in effect, the dagger must be used to kill someone with one strike or cut. If the target dies, the next round he turns to a wraith under the necromancer's control -- if he doesn't, the spell wears off. The wraith lives until killed, but the necromancer must every evening make an intelligence check to maintain the control over the undead created with this spell. If he fails, the wraith is set free, if he maintains the control for seven nights, the wraith is obedient forever. Usually the Wraith Curse is used against deadly wounded or helpless victims.
Soulcage by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 6
Range: touch
Duration: permanent
Area: one object
Soulcage prepares a container for the soul of one specific person. Enchanting the cage takes one hour per level of the victim. The container may be just about anything, but it must have been in the possession of the victim at least a year. The cage turns black (as if burnt) as the result of the spell. After the Soulcage is created, it can not be dispelled without physically breaking the cage. It works even within anti-magic zones. Creating the Soulcage requires a couple of components from the victim like hair or nails, and the knowledge of all the names victim has regularly used in his life.
Bind Soul by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 6
Range: 10m
Duration: permanent
Area: one soul, one Soulcage
Using Bind Soul requires a container prepared with Soulcage, and a bodiless soul. Bind Soul effectively forces the soul to the Soulcage, where the soul is trapped until it is freed by physically breaking the container. Bind Soul can not be dispelled without breaking the container. After the soul is trapped, other soul magics can be used against it. It is possible to communicate with the soul by using ESP or similar forms of magic.
The Mark of the Damned by Brannart
McGregor
Level: 7
Range: touch
Duration: until removed
Area: one person
The Mark of the Damned is an invisible magical sigil that must be placed on the victim's forehead. If the victim fails the saving throw, he knows that something is horribly wrong, if he succeeds, the Mark fails. All those who see the victim's face, will treat him as if they saw the face and the body of a lich. They see him just as he is, but their attitude is altered, and they can't explain why. The victim causes them to panic, rage, fear... Even if he can get someone believe that he is cursed, the spell is not broken. The Mark of the Damned can not be dispelled, but a Bless or a Remove Curse by a lawful cleric of necromancer's level will remove the Mark. The necromancer can also remove the Mark.
Steal Soul by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 7
Range: 10m
Duration: permanent
Area: one victim
This spell effectively drains the soul of the victim permanently from his body. The body doesn't die, but the soul appears pure and naked white misty form next to it. The soul can be harmed only by specific magics, and it can only move (fly) at walking speed. If the soul is still free after five minutes, it is drawn to afterlife. Before that happens, other soul magics affect the soul. If the victim has any soul magics (like Magic Jar), he can use them. The soul can use no other form of magic. The victim may save vs. death magic to avoid the soul-stealing. The victim can be raised from death, if the soul is not trapped somehow. Bodiless soul can not resist soul magics in any way. Only sentient beings' souls can be stolen.
Eclipse by Brannart McGregor
Level: 7
Range: 0
Duration: 20min / level
Area: 1km radius / level
Eclipse prevents sunrise within a given area, postponing it by 20 minutes per level of the caster. Practically it reflects all the sunlight within the area back to the sun, but lets starlight and moonlight through. The area of effect moves with the caster. Eclipse can be only cast before sunrise, but it lengthens the duration of all spells lasting for one night. Note that powerful mages can prevent an entire day (at least in winter or in a valley), making the night very long indeed. Eclipse cannot be cast on two subsequent days.
Rebirth by Valdemar
Level: 8
Range: touch
Duration: permanent
Area: the caster and a woman
My long research on reversing undeath brought me to this spell. The way is long and hard, but there is this way back. Rebirth must be cast by an undead to a fertile, willing woman. Effectively, the spell makes the woman pregnant, and places the soul of the necromancer to the unborn baby, thus leaving the caster's body uninhabited. When the baby is born, it has no memories of it's previous life, but it has all the mundane skills it had. Thus, there might be a baby very adept in babbling in arcane languages. The personality is also the casters. As the baby ages, every month he remembers five months of his previous life, regaining also his character, arcane abilities, maturity and personality. When the child is physically ten years old, he probably is very potent mage again.
Soul Surge by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 8
Range: 30m
Duration: 30min
Area: one victim
The Soul Surge removes the soul of one person from the body, and lets the necromancer transform it to an overwhelming surge of power. The first victim gets to save vs. death magic, if he makes the roll, the spell is cancelled. If he fails, he dies as the soul is drawn from the body and absorbed in a great flash of light. Note that the body doesn't die, but the person inside does. The necromancer will get one point of power per victim's level for the duration of the spell. A power point may be either used to fire black bolts of lightning (one target only, save for half, maximum of 20d6 per bolt) for d6 per expended power point, or to temporarily increase the caster's level for one level per two power points, or to instantaneously re-memorise one spell level per two power points. The victim can never be raised. The burning energies of the Soul Surge cause one hit point of damage to the necromancer per victim's level.
The Night of the Dead by Brannart
McGregor
Level: 9
Range: 0
Duration: until sunrise
Area: 1km radius / level
The Night of the Dead is a ritual spell takes an hour to cast, and requires some equipment (magical symbols, candles, braziers) and one sentient living victim to be sacrificed, who can never be brought back to life. After the spell is cast, every dead body within the area is turned either to skeleton or a zombie (depending on their condition) under the caster's control, every mindless undead succumbs to the caster's will and every sentient undead has to save vs. spells or be also controlled by the caster. The sacrificed victim is transformed to a vampire under the caster's control for the duration of the spell. The caster can give telepathic orders to all the dead within the area. Every undead (incl. the caster) under the spell, is strengthened by 1hp / hit die, and they strike with +2 to hit and damage. All turning attempts against the undead are made with 2/3 of the turner's level. The visible effects of the spells are horrific; the dead rise from their graves and from the long-forgotten battlefields, strong icy wind blows spreading thin white mist swirls everywhere. The undead animated by the Night drop dead when the sun rises, and can never again be animated by the same necromancer. The area of effect moves with the caster, and if the undead happen to walk out of it, they drop dead. But as the caster walks on, more and more undead rise from the graveyards to serve him. The Night of the Dead can not be dispelled by Dispel Magic, but the spell ends if the necromancer is killed or the vampire used in the ritual is permanently destroyed.
Grasp the Mortal Flesh by Brannart
McGregor
Level: 9
Range: 0
Duration: permanent
Area: caster
Brannart McGregor designed the Grasp to protect himself from death when he still was alive. Grasp the Mortal Flesh binds the soul strongly to the flesh; the caster just stays alive even if dismembered, no matter if he has -10 or -50 hit points. He never loses consciousness, but if he has negative hit points, it is rather difficult and painful to do anything. The rule of thumb is that the soul is in the caster's head unless it is destroyed. If it is, the soul flees to his heart if they are still connected. The caster can only be killed permanently if the head is severed and then crushed, or the head is crushed and the heart cut to pieces. The problem with the Grasp is, that the soul may be forever trapped in the severed skull, driving the necromancer insane and torturing him forever. Brannart always memorised spells that made it possible to Magic Jar someone to get few healing spells cast to his original body. Any and all healing spells can heal the necromancer's part where the soul resides. The Grasp can only be dispelled by a caster of higher level than the necromancer. If the caster's soul is successfully drawn from his body (like Steal Soul), the Grasp is dispelled, but the soul stays in the necromancer's body.
Cheat the Death by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 9
Range: 1m / level
Duration: 1r / level
Area: caster and one other person of the same race
Morphail's last defence against death is a very potent version of the Magic Jar. If the caster dies while this spell is in effect, every living (or undead) humanoid within the range must make a spell vs. death magic, beginning from the closest to the dead necromancer. The first one to fail the save dies, as the soul of the necromancer permanently takes over the body. Cheat the Death can be dispelled before it takes effect, but the effect is not magical after the necromancer has inhabited the new body. If necromancer was undead, his new body begins to die, eventually turning to undead. The necromancer keeps his mental abilities, but takes the physical properties of the victim. If he dies in the new body, and is tried to be brought back from dead, there are equal chance that the victim is brought back instead. If the necromancer is alive when Cheat the Death ends, he must save vs. death magic or die; if he dies, he still has the chance to cheat the death.
Embody Soul by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 9
Range: touch
Duration: permanent
Area: one soulless body
One of the Morphail's masterpieces makes it possible to cast a soul to a soulless body permanently, effectively bringing dead back to life. To embody a soul, the necromancer must have a bodiless soul, and a soulless body (can be made with Steal Soul, Soul Surge or Magic Jar (if the victim has used Magic Jar himself)) of the soul's race. The body can also be created (the result looks like a flesh golem or Frankenstein's monster) or grown (which is quite a feat in itself), or hit in the head until he is what mundane people would call brain-dead. After the soul is present and the body is present, the necromancer must do a night-long ritual. If the ritual is not interrupted, the soul inhabits the body permanently. The soul keeps his mental abilities, but takes the physical properties of the body. The effect can not be dispelled, and if the body dies and is raised from death, there is an equal chance for the original person and the newcomer to be raised. If the soul was undead, his new body begins to die, eventually turning to undead. Soul can also be embodied to an undead body, which then stays undead.
Fetter of Soul Power by Morphail
Gorevitch-Woszlany
Level: 9
Range: touch
Duration: permanent
Area: one Soulcage with a soul, and the living body
To enchant a Fetter of Soul Power,
the necromancer must have earlier prepared a Soulcage, and he must
have bind the soul to the cage. First he must do a grotesque bloody
ritual lasting for three uninterrupted nights, during which he
kills the body physically, and after which there is practically
nothing left of the victim's body. After enchanting the fetter, he
must cast the Soul Surge to the soul, thus transforming it to pure
energy. After he has done these preparations, the Fetter is ready.
It has one charge per level or a hit die of the victim. Each charge
may be expended to give the necromancer one magical ability of the
victim for six hours, or to increase caster's level by one for six
hours. If the victim was a thief, caster may use a charge to get
one thieving skill. If the victim was a cleric, he can take the
turn undead ability. If the victim was a mage, he can memorise
instantaneously one full spell per three charges. Other abilities
are described in the monsters' description. The victim must be a
sentient being, but he can be of any race. Using the charges of the
Fetter damages the caster by one hit point per charge.